The Katyn massacre was a direct result, with Stalin ordering the mass murder of Poland s elite in order to decapitate Polish society and thus make it more pliable.

Coming on the heels of Yushchenko's alleged poisoning, the timing of the move against Tymoshenko appears to be anything but coincidental. Indeed, the case was reopened while Yushchenko was hospitalized thus threatening to decapitate the opposition with barely a month to go before the presidential election on October 31.